Can-opener



E. 0. MURMANN.

CAN OPENER.

APPucATlau. FILED mwlz. 1919.

1,337, 14:8. Patented Apr. 13, 1920.

Zznor Enzyme @Mmm 1W maa M 77 MAZm'ys EUGENE O. MUR'MANN, OF GLEN'DALE, CALIFORNIA.

CAN-OPENER.

Specication of Letters Patent. Patented Apr, 13, 1920.

Application filed May 12, 1919. Serial No. 296,320.

To all whom. t may concern.'

Be it known that I, EUGENE O. MURMANN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Glendale, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Can-Openers, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to va can opener which is adapted to cut downwardly through'the top of a can.

It is the principal object of my invention to provide a can opener which will out downwardly, thereby forcing the cut edge inwardly. It is another object of this invention to provide 'a can opener which will cut close to the edge of a can, and will'operate on cans of any contour. The present invention employs the underside of the 11p of a can asa surface bearing for the can opener fulcrum. It is a further object of this invention to provide a can opener of the character described with nove'l means for engaging the lip of the can so as to pre# vent the fulcrum of the opener fromv slipping from the lip.

These objects will be more fully under- I stood, as will also lother objects and corre` sponding accomplishments of my invention from the following detailed description of an embodiment thereof. For the purpose of this description, reference is had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevation of a `can opener with the fulcrum member in open position; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view; Fig. 3

-is a view looking in the direction of the arrow 3 in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 illustrates the manner of using the opener; and Fig. 5 is an elevation vof the can opener with the fulcrum member in locked position.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 4, A indicates a portion of the upper part of a can. .The blade of vthe opener is in position with respect to the fulcrum member for initially engaging the lip.

A handle 6 is provided 'for a fulcrum member 7 which extends forwardly and has a portion 8 bent at right angles to the shank forming a hook, the end of which is adapted to be disposed beneath thelip ef -a can. Formed 'in the shank 7 are elongated openings 9 and 10.

A knife blade 11 is secured to the shank 7 by rivets 12 and 13 which pass through the elongated openings 9 and 10 and are seured to a finger piece 14 in such a mannerl that the blade 11 may be moved forwardly and backwardly along the fulcrum member. The blade is formed with a point 15 for penetrating the top of the can and a cutting edge 16 for cutting the top. The rear of the blade is warped as indicated by 17 to provide for cutting the rounded corners of rectangular cans. The rear end of finger piece 14 is offset as indicated by 18 so that it may be conveniently grasped by the nger of the operator.' The opener is used in the following manner: VThe finger piece is grasped and the knife'blade pulled to the rear, the point 15 thereof uncovering the fulcrum point of the member 8. The point of the opener is now pressed upon the top of the can adjacent the lip 19 until it penetrates the latter as shown in Fig.' 4. In the position where the point -15 uncovers the fulcrum point of member 8,

to pass between the fulcrum point and the blade. When the opener is in the position shown in Fig.` 4, the finger piece is again grasped and the fulcrum member moved so that it is behind the point 15 of the blade. In this position the lip 19 lies within the eye of the hook and is hemmed in by the blade and fulcrum member preventing the opener from slipping from the lip and the can.. The cutting is now porformed by drawing the can opener toward the rear of the blade and pressing downwardly and continuing the cutting in the usual manner.

It is obvious that without the means of admitting the lip of the can to the eye of the hook and locking it in this position, there would be no positive connection of the can opener to the lip of the can. This prevents slipping of the can opener which is the diiiiculty experienced with openers of the general type shown.

What I claim is:

1. A can opener for cutting downwardly through the top of a can comprisingin combination a member having a fulcrum for disposal beneath the lip of a can, and a knife blade slidably mounted on said member so' that the point of said blade may cover or uncover said fulcrum as desired.

2. A can opener for cutting downwardly through the top of a can comprising in combination a member having a fulcrum for disposal beneath the lip of a can, said member havin inset to receive said lip, and a knife bla e slidably mounted on said meniber'so that the said blade may be moved to cover or uncover the said inset.

3. A can opener for cutting downwardly through the top of a can comprising in combination a member having a fulcrum for disposal beneath the lip of a can, a knife blade slidably mounted on said member so that the point of said blade may be moved to cover or uncover said fulcrum, and means vfor moving said knife blade lip of said can, a knife blade slidably mounted on said member so that said blade may be movedv to cover or uncover said inset and means to move Saidl blade.

5. A can opener for cutting downwardly through the top of a can comprising in combination a member having a shank with a hook formed thereon for disposal .of its end beneath the lip of a can, and a knife blade slidably mounted on the shank of said member, said hook being bent so that the opening therein faces said blade, and said blade and hook being so arranged that the blade lmay be moved to cover or uncover said 

